Good advice required please

[sashascool]

hi my name is Sash and my husband is Pete
We have a beautiful staffie pup whom we have had since 5 weeks old. He has never been litter sick at night and has proceeded at the normal rate with toilet training and he will sit, down and come on command with the usual training titbit rewards. We are following all given advice for mouthing, chewing etc and has prooved to be effective. My husband has made a lovely pen for him in which we have placed a lovely bed and an alternating variety of toys and rawhide chews.............you would think it was an ideal puppy world.
Well I think maybe we are doing something wrong because he has this habit of yelping/barking sometimes when, in our eyes isn't warrantied however he must be trying to tell us something which we may be missing. He isn't spoilt at all in as much as he gets three 5 min specific training sessions a day if possible and then he gets boistrous playtime andlts of cuddles and gentle time as well but my husband, who is the alpha male due to him being at home all day, also makes sure that he gets time out and alone time so that he realises that the world doesn't revolve around him. Can anyone offer some advice as to how we can improve on what we are doing or point out where we might be going wrong. We really look forward to hearing from you
Thank you for reading

[Novel]

It is possible that he is just being a puppy. If he makes noise, and you all react he has just discovered that if he makes a noise you all will come to see him. In short, he has trained you. If there is a behavior that you do not like, ignore it. If he whines when in his crate, and there is nothing wrong, then turn your back, walk away, and do not react or reinforce the behavior.
Just as sometimes a baby will cry for no reason but to make noise, a puppy will do the same. If he has been fed, gone to the bathroom and is warm and dry, whining is just that, whining, to make noise and get noticed. Puppys are extremely selfish, and there will never be a time that they do not want to be with you. Unless you plan to have the dog at your side 24 hours a day, every day, you will need to teach him that sometimes he does not get his way!

P.S. Welcome to Global Paw!

[Spiritus]

"Puppys are extremely selfish, and there will never be a time that they do not want to be with you."

Dogs in general want to be with their people. I don't consider this selfish, I consider this normal dog behavior, and I would worry about a dog that DIDN'T want to be with his people.

How old is the pup now? Where is this pen? Is it in the house, outside? The fact that he came to you at five weeks might have something to do with it, but knowing his age might help. While I do agree that dogs need to learn how to hang out by themselves, more information about your dog would be helpful.

[Novel]

Originally Posted by Spiritus

I don't consider this selfish, I consider this normal dog behavior,

I also consider it normal dog behavior, as well as selfish.. I don't mean selfish in a negative way... just saying that they are very much concerned with themselves and their immediate needs. In older, more mature dogs, you will see them act less selfishly, and more in a pack manner, with their needs not necessarily being the top on their priority list. They will submit to something they do not enjoy, because their pack leader has asked them to do so, very unselfishly.